Sometimes Love Hurts Read Free Page B

kiss to show her appreciation and Lisa thanked God that she still had her mother.  All of her energy would then go toward her.
    Lisa was not sure she was ready to face her peers at college yet.  However, she also knew it would be better to stay busy.  She wanted her mind preoccupied with her studies so that she would not have too much time to think about the loss of her father.  She filled her days with school, homework, and of course little thoughts of her dad creeping in from time to time.
    It was the end of the following week before Lisa made her way back home.  She knocked on the door and when no one answered, she slowly opened it and crept in.  She found her mother sitting in the recliner in the darkness of the family room.  The shades were drawn with the only light emanating from a tiny nightlight.  Lisa silently drew close to her mother who was crying quietly.  She knelt by her mother’s side, and gently placed her hand on her lap – her heart breaking for her. 
    “Are you all right, mom?” She whispered.
    “Yes, dear,” she mumbled attempting to wipe tears from her face before she looked up.
    A small smile crept onto her mother’s face as she opened her arms inviting Lisa to come nearer.  Lisa accepted and hugged her mother’s neck.  She could feel her frail body begin to shake as she tried to control her tears.
    “You miss daddy, don’t you?” Lisa blurted out without thinking. 
          She did not mean to say what she had actually been thinking, but try as she might, she could not keep the wonderful memories of her father from filling her mind.  She could not even study without hearing his voice reminding her how important it was to get a good education, or hearing him tell her how much he loved his little girl.
    “Yes, I do,” her mother whimpered.
    “You found your knight in shining armor when you met dad, didn’t you?” Lisa asked.  
    Her mother’s frail smile seemed to widen with that remark.
    “Yes,” she replied.
    “I mean you really found love.  The kind that lasts forever, the kind everyone wants, but so many couples never find.” 
         Most of Lisa’s friends parents were divorced.  Many remarried and had blended families. Her friends often told her that she was in the minority, because she had the same mother and father throughout her life.  That was something for which Lisa was very proud.  Her parents had discovered the secret of staying married and being happy, and she wanted the same thing one day.
         Her mother straightened up in her chair, and her temples creased.  As she smiled, some wrinkles appeared. 
    “What does love mean to you?” She asked.
    “You know,” Lisa began,  “the man you love and marry would cherish you, and only you forever.  He would never hurt you, hit you, lie to you, or cheat on you.  He would always want you by his side no matter what.”
    Lisa was still on her knees by her mother’s side as her mom took her hand and caressed her head.  She let her fingers comb through her long hair following it down to her shoulders.
    “I want the fairytale, mom.  Like Cinderella and Snow White.”  She glanced at her mother and smiled.  “Like you had.”
    “Love is difficult, sweetie,” her mom replied.  “It’s a choice, and it’s not always that special feeling or the need for security.  Oh yeah, it starts out that way, but then life goes on and sometimes it does hurt.” 
    Lisa glanced up at her mother strangely.
    “Have you heard the old sayings that love means never having to say you’re sorry?” 
    Lisa shook her head. She hadn’t heard that one before.
    “Well that’s wrong.  You do have to say you’re sorry.  You must learn to compromise, and to forgive and forget.  Love takes understanding, a ton of courage, and the unrelenting desire to stay together even when you feel totally betrayed.”
    Suddenly Lisa’s head began to reel, and she could barely catch her breath. 
    What